Walled gardens and historic garden projects: Feasibility studies and business planning
Restoring or reopening a walled or historic garden is one of the most rewarding and financially demanding types of heritage project. The restoration phase is complex, and even opening, the ongoing maintenance and staffing of historic glasshouses, walls and productive gardens is never-ending.
It is increasingly recognised that gardens, parks and estates run by trusts, charities and local authorities are having to do more with less. There is a growing drive to build sustainable, commercially viable operations —cafés, event spaces, retail, training and volunteering programmes that can help a walled garden pay its way over the long term. A significant part of our work is helping clients identify and test these income-generating opportunities through feasibility studies and business plans, while being realistic about the investment, staffing and time it takes to build that capacity.
We are experienced in working alongside landscape architects, conservation architects and other specialists. Gardens cannot be considered in isolation they usually sit within a wider estate or landscape, and we’re drawn to projects with a strong narrative: places where heritage and nature can be opened up to new and diverse audiences, often for the first time.
Kirkleatham Walled Garden business plan, governance review and market testing
We worked with Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council on Kirkleatham Walled Garden, a Grade II-listed historic walled garden restored as part of a £9.8 million project, bringing it back into use after 30 years. The restored garden now incorporates a café, events space and productive gardens, alongside training academies linked to catering, hospitality and horticulture.
Our role included reviewing the business plan that had been produced, assessing delivery and governance options, and carrying out a soft market testing exercise to gauge operator interest — work which went on to help secure a catering operator for the site. Find out more about Kirkleatham Walled Garden.
As a team we have also worked on a number of feasibility studies and business plans associated with walled and historic gardens:
Prepared visitor experience development plans and financial cases for Staunton Country Park, Hampshire, as part of a £19 million country parks transformation programme for Hampshire County Council — Staunton includes two walled gardens, a working farm and a tropical hothouse.
Prepared the business case to secure National Lottery Heritage Fund support for Houghton Hall Park, Central Bedfordshire Council, reinstating the walled garden and kitchen garden alongside a new visitor centre.
Carried out a study for East Riding of Yorkshire Council to identify and evaluate opportunities to enhance the visitor experience at Sewerby Hall and Gardens, including its two historic gardens and wider parkland.
Worked as sub-consultants to develop a commercial strategy for the South London Botanical Institute, a distinctive, community-rooted botanical collection.
Developed a visitor carrying capacity model for Crathes Castle, Garden and Estate for the National Trust for Scotland — home to a 16th-century Category A-listed castle and a nationally significant walled garden.
Carried out a separate feasibility study for Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council to introduce visitor accommodation within a walled kitchen garden at Gnoll Estate Country Park. We also carried out an economic assessment to repurpose an empty cottage adjacent to a former walled kitchen garden as self-catering accommodation, securing development funding.
Prepared visitor experience and income generation plans for Swindon Borough Council’s Lydiard Country Park, which incorporates a walled garden.
Both Kirkleatham Walled Garden and Staunton include horticultural operations linked to training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Find out about some of the walled garden and heritage projects we have worked on.
What our clients say
“Planning Solutions were commissioned to develop a Business Plan to assess viability and recommend an approach for a commercially viable Visitor Centre at Houghton Hall Park, Houghton Regis. The Business Plan formed part of a successful Heritage Lottery Fund Parks for People application for the improvement of the park. Planning Solutions fulfilled their commission with enthusiasm and commitment and worked well with other consultants and staff involved in the project. They had considerable prior experience working with visitor attractions and used this experience and knowledge to create a comprehensive Business Plan.” Kim Owens, Senior Fundraising Officer Central Bedfordshire Council
Added value – direct operational experience
We can also draw on the experience of our sister company, Planning Solutions Limited, who have over 25 years’ operational experience running a number of heritage and other tourism businesses, including Kent Life Heritage Farm Park, CONKERS, the National Brewery Centre (formerly the Bass Museum) from 2010 to 2022. They also manage the Burton Bridge Brewery.
Kent Life incorporates the Kentish Gardens, from the ornamental herb garden through to the apple orchard, two farmhouse gardens producing seasonal fruit and vegetables, and a hop garden planted with Fuggle and Goldings hops, both traditional Kentish varieties dating from the late 19th century.
This operational experience gives us a first-hand understanding of the challenges operators face in managing and shaping visitor experiences, and how to develop walled garden projects that are commercially viable, meet the needs of the visitor marketplace and local community, and respond to wider goals such as education, learning, volunteering and placemaking.
Talk to us about your project
Every walled garden has its own story, its own constraints and its own potential. Whether you’re at the very earliest stage of exploring an idea, working up a funding bid, or need an independent view on a business plan that’s already been drafted, we’d be glad to talk it through. There’s no obligation, and no charge for an initial conversation. Call Richard Linington on 07866 742628 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk to discuss your walled garden or historic garden project.